Switch



p 1932- J. SCHNEIDER SWITCH Filed Aug. 22, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 20, 1932. J. SCHNEIDER SWITCH Filed-Afig. 22, 192'! 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 tfa/zzz L e/maid wag 1a Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITEDWSTATES.

P T. Price JOHN scnnmnnnor Rosanna PA K} NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE DELTA swim anaem c COMPANY, on cnIcAeaILLmo Is'A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS swrrcn' applicati n nee, August 22, 1 922.; Serial my. 214,501.

My invention relates in general to electric switches, and more partlcularly to such switches as are known; in theart by the term H load break disconnect switches. a

5 In the electrical art the usual-practice is to place disconnect switches" in series with circuit interruptors and like a paratus so that these devices may, be isolate from the rest: of

Tithe: systemv of electrical distribution and worked upon with safety. It'is obvious that j g Y stacks. carrying the stationary contact memher or terminal together with the stationary in such use the disconnect switches do not have to-be designed to break the load circuit since this is broken by the circuit interruptor. The function of a disconnect switch is merely to isolate a particular piece of apparatus'with which it is associated; The only current that it has to break isthe charging current-which is relatively small in comparison with the.

-'.".load. It often occurs, however, that it is 20 necessary to operate these-disconnect switches,

under. load. Under these conditions, a great I deal of trouble is encountered because the dis connect switches are ordinarily not designed? 'f'Cto break the load circuit, Very often a dis.-,

astrous arc is formed and great diflicu'lty occurs. in-opening the'ci-rcait and; in addition the disconnect switch maybe destroyed'l- In View of the foregoing, it is therefore, highly 5.7.", desirable to provide a disconnect switch which-maybeusedto open the load circuit if it becomes necessary.

One of: the oijects -of my invention is to provide a disconnectswitch which may *5". used to open the circuit through which the load is passing. 7

Another object is to provide a disconnectswitch which there. are two current conducting paths, oneof them that is used norr 1: mally to passvthe main currentv and the other 0 of which is used? to. temporarily carry-the main current whenthe first circuit. is broken..- Alnother object. is, to provide means in my improved disconnect switch for'opening this {ous figures. designatesimilar parts, reference characterb generally denotes a: suitable sup-- porting structure for my improved disco'n-- Still another object is toprovide a. dis-- connectswitch which; beclosed under-- ',,...'load and in whichithermaimcircuit ispreQ liminarily closed through the ar ing horns,

' forces the. arcing after which the'main circuit is closed through the'usual switch contacts.

Thereare other objects of my invention which, together with the foregoing, will be described in the detailed specification which is. to follow, taken inconjunction with the.

arcing horn, the other member carrying I the movable arcinghorn affixed to the top thereof.

A suitable contact makingmember adapted. to engage the stationary contact member, is

' mounted-upon an insulatorstack attached to 1 said-base midway between the. two stationary insulator stacks. The middle-insulator stack is pivoted so that it may be rotated. A suitable-lever mechanism is. arrangedand at--- tachedto the movable insulator stack so that it may be rotated. Whenth'e switch is closed i i the arcing horns contact. first and thereafter the main circuit is established'through the contact makingmemberand the stationary contact member. When: the switch is opened, the main circuit is broken first through the f maincontaets and after the movable. contact member has gained considerable speed it snapping movement. I

Referring now ito. the drawings I Fig. l is aside elevation of my improved disconnect switch in itsclo'sed position;

Fig; 2", is a side elevation of the'disconnect switch inits open-position;

'Fig. 3'is a top plan View of the switch shown in Fig. 2. I V Fig; l is a fragmentary View showingthe forked end of the arcing horn.

Referring now to the drawings detail, in which like reference characters 1n the varinect switch designated generally by the refierencecharacter 6.. The supporting struchorns apart with: 'arapid is mounted two insulator stacks 8 and?) of the 16 lcementedtothe crown thereof, the top of usual construction. The insulators are fixed permanently to eitherend of the channel base 7 A metallic cap 10 is cemented to the top or crown of the insulator 8 and the top of this cap forms a straight surface or platform. A member 11 of copper or other suitable conducting material having extensions '12, 13 and14 is permanently attached to the top of themetallic cap 10. The extension 12of the member 11 forms the stationary contact member of the switch. The extension 13 forms the usual lug to which the electric circuit is usually connected. The upwardly extending extension 14 serves as a supporting member for the arcing horn 15 which is aflixed in a socket in the member 11. The arcing horn 15 is forked a short distancefrom its upper extremity andis bent inwardly as shown. 1

' e eth insulator stack 11 has a metallic which. capiforms a platform to which the member 17 of copper or other suitable'c om ducting material is permanently attached. The iiuember'l'T carries an extension 18 which forms the usual terminal lug. The member 17 also carries an extension 19 on either side th.creof, which is bent upwardly to'fortm a' pivot for the movable horn support 20. The movable horn support 20 has two sides slightly spread apart except at their upper extremity where they are joined together to form socket for the movable arcing horn 21, whichis permanentlyaffixed therein. The

movable arcinghorn 21 is adapted to cooperatewith a'stationary arcing horn 15. that is,

it'isladaptedto rest within the forked endof the stationary arcing horn. A bumper plate 22" is permanently attached to the horn sup port2Oflwith its back projecting over the sup-Q port. A pin 23 which projects over the side i of the movable support 20 is permanently" held place by the bumper plate 22. The projecting sides of the bumper plate 22 are cut away a short-distance from the pin 23, (seev Fig. 3),

A third insulator 25 is. mounted midway between the stationary insulators 8' and 9. The stationary insulator 25 is affixed to a pin 26 that extends through a slot 27 in the base plate. 7.. Thepin 26 is pivoted in the bracket 28 attached rigidly to the base plate 7. The pin. 26 carries the counter balancing weight 29 adjustably attached to its lower extremity 'to, counter balancethe weight of the movable levers for. operating means to revolve insulw tor 25 may be of any usual or well known construction.

Another cap 40 is mounted upon the crown of the insulator 25 and provides a supporting means upon which the member 41 may be mounted. The member 41 may be of copper or other suitable conductingmaterial and carries an extension 42 which forms a terminal connecting lug of the usual type. The member 41 is also provided with an upwardly extending extension upon which; is mounted the contact making member 44. This member x may consist of two spring contact jaws adapted to fit over the cont-act member 12 with which it operates. A sleet hood 45 of boxlikeeonstruction with the lower side open, is pivotally attached to the lower end of'the contact making terminal 44 at 46. The sleet hood 45 is provided with two extending links 47r which are extensions of the sides of the sleet box itself. These extensions'47 are provided with hooks '48 at their extremities and together with the stopping pin 23 form means for limitingopening movement of the switch.

, A link member 49is pivotally attached to the extensions 47 at 50 and to the movable horn support 20 at 51; The link member 49 is of box-like construction with thelower side he v ing open so as to fit over the supporting members 20 when the switch is'opened. Onepon tion of the link member 49 is slightly cut away, as may be seen at 5 3 in Fig. 3, so; that itfma'y bepivotedto the'support-ing member 22. A flexible conductor 54 connects the terminal 18 on the stationary insulator "9 with the terminal '42 on the movable insulator 25 in order to provide a good conducting path to the movable contact making member 44. The

flexible conductor 54 is passed 'over pins 55 56 and 57 in the horn'supporting member20,

and in the extensions 47 of the sleeve box 45 in order to hold the flexible conductor in such position as it will not interfere with the switch operation. i

Having described the improvedmechanical construction of my novel disc'onnectswitch I will now explain its operation. For thispurpose it will be assumed that the disconnect switch is in a closed position and it is desirous to open it'under load. Under these condi .tions, the lever 35 will be manually moved downward thereby bringing about the movement of the pin 26 carrying the movable insulator 25 in a clockwise direction by means of the crank lever 33'and the links 31 and" 34. It will be obviousthat in the rotation of the insulator 25 the engagement of the con-' tact making member 44 with the contact meinber 12 is broken. This operation does not break the electrical circuit through the switch because the arcing horns 15 and 211: are still" in engagement As the insulator 25 is rotated theextensions 47 are moved closer'to the bumper plate .ae'earri dby @6 h w lp When the extension??? finally mamas:

contacts thebumper plate 22 the movable insulator will haveconsiderablemomentum and-the arcing'horn 21 will be. mo-ved f'rom engagementwith the. arcing h0rns-15 with a from moisture.

tationlof the: insulator 25. bringsthe hooks 4.8 of the extension At? in such a. position as to engage the. pin: 23 on either, side herewith forming a limit to the movementaoi .thearcing horn. WVhenthis occurs thee-witch is in the position shown in Fig; ,2,and the-rotation oi."- it ceases. At this point; also the stopping member carried by the base plate 7 may serve tostop the movement otthe rotary 'nsulator 2.6.. The'opening of the. arcing horns l5 and 21. bring aboutbreaking of. the main electricalcircuit through the switch. It will be seen by tracing the path-10f the movable arc horn 21, as shownby the dotted line of Fig. 1,.thatit is curved in such-manner that the-arc will'bebrokenvery readily This occurs. because the movable. arcing horn 21 takesan upward-movement to break the arc, this upward movement ismuch more eificacious in breaking the arc thanitthe movement were simple horizontally away from the stationary arcinghorn 15., By reason of the lost. motion connection including, thelink between the extension 47 and the movable support 20,.themovable arcing horn is moved very rapidly to. an open position with the snapping movement. I I

I In the open position. of the switch theboxlike sleetshield completely encloses the contact. making members 44 so. as toprotcct it This permits the switch to be leftopenunderall conditions of weather for anylength oftirne withthe assurance that it maybe closedwithout difliculty. I

if one should develop. There is no possibility ofan are forming between the contact 'making member 46L and the contact member 12 at this time because of their distance apart.

lVhen closing the switch by a movement ofthe lever 35 in the opposite direction, the same operationsas described occur. That is, the hook 48 and. the pin 23' are engaged and the links 47 move the support 20 rapidly throwing arcing horn 21 .into contact with the. born 15.. At this: time and while the movable insulator is at its center point in its.

closing movement, the hook 48'disengagesthe pin 23. Thus a contact is first established between the arcing horn 21 and the -horn 1 5,

: and then the contact making member 4 4 en- By using this construction, of disconnect gages the contact member 12. This provides." a very convenientmethod of closing akcircuit; to supply thev load. It is to benotedthat: whenlthe movable insulator moves beycndiits. center position in: its closingv movement the weight got theinsulator; turns topless. thee cirg cuit between the'contact 14; and! 12 VV-l'th'rfl. rapid movement. 1 I j Itis obvious, of course, that whilelha ve described only a single disconnect switch, that these switches may be operated in gangs.

in the usual manner in order to interrupt 1a 7 polyphase circuit. Under these conditions the operation of the various. switches in the gang occurs in the same manner as has been described. I'

I. desire itv to be understoodthat, although, I have disclosed and described a preferred form of my invention, the invention is. not limited thereby, but only insofar as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims: I Q

I. claim:

1. A. switch comprising a main. contact, member and an auxiliary contact member a. stationary insulating support for said. menu.

bers, a movable maincontact. making member and a. movable auxiliary contact making; member, a movable insulating support for said main contact making member, means, including a stationary insulating support, for said auxiliary contact making member, andan actuating connectionbetween the two movable contact making members for. actuating the auxiliary contact making member-up. on actuation of'the movable insulating sup; port.

2. A. switch comprising a. main contact: member and an auxiliary contact member, an. insulating support forboth oi said members, amovable maincontact making member and a. separately movable, auxiliary contact malt,-

ing member, insulating supporting means for said. contact making members, and, a collap sible link connection pivotallyconnectingthe two members and including one link pivoted to one ofthe contact making members and. another link pivoted to the othercontact makingmember with a pivotal connection between the two links. Y

3. A switch comprising a main. contact member, an auxiliary contact member, an in: v sulating support for both said members, a main contact making member, an auxiliary contact making member, insulating supporting means for said contact making members, the insulating supporting means, including a rocking insulator for the main contact making member, and a lost motion pivoted link connection between said contact making members.

AL A switch. comprising a main contact member, an auxiliary contactmembenan in sul'ating support for said membersfa main f contactmaking member, an auxiliary contact making member, insulating supporting means for said contact making members, the insulating support of said main contact making member being mounted for rotative movement, a'collapsible link connection between said contact making members for transmitting motion from one of said contact making members to the other contact making member, and a sleet shield carried by said 1 link connection and adapted to enclose said main contact making member when theand a pin carried by said movable insulating support'having a counter balancing weight attached thereto.

6. A switch comprising a base, an insulating support mounted upon each end of said base, a main contact member and an auxiliary 36 contact member carried by one of said sup- 'ports, an auxiliary contact making member pivotedupon the other support, a movable insulating support pivotally mounted on said base between said supports, a main contact making member mounted upon said movable insulating support, and a link connected be-' tween said main and auxiliary contact making members for swinging the auxiliary coni r tact making member.

40" 7. A switch comprising a base, an insulat ing support mounted upon each end of said base, a main contact member and an auxiliary contact member carried by one of said supnports, an auxiliary contact making member 5" at least partially carried by the other support, a movable insulating support pivotally mounted on said base between said other supports, a main contact making member mount- 1 ed upon said movable insulating support, a

collapsible link connection between said main and auxiliary contact making members for swinging the auxiliary contact making member, and means for operating said movable iiiinsulati-ng support to bring said auxiliary contact members into engagement before said main contact members.

8. A switch comprising a base, an insulating support mounted upon each end of said -base, a main contact member and an auxiliary contact member carried by one of said supports, an auxiliary contact making membersupported by means including the other or said supports, a movable insulating sup- -port carried by said base and pivotally knounted thereon between said other insulating supports, a main contact making mem ber carried by said movable insulating support, a link connection including apivoted joint between the contact making members,

means forope-rating' said movable support to bring the main contact members into engagement, means for operating said movable insulating support to open said maincontact' members while'said auxiliary contact members are maintained in engagement, and for then opening said auxiliary contact members with a rapid snapping motion.

9. In an electric switch, a stationary contact, and a stationary arcing horn, a movable V contact and a movable arcing horn, means for moving the last mentioned contact and lator, a movable insulator, a pair of cooperating main contacts mounted on the respective insulators, a second stationary insulator, a pair of cooperating auxiliary contacts mounted-on the respective stationary insulators, and a lost motion connection between the movable insulator and one of the auxiliary contacts for moving the auxiliary contacts into and out of engagement with one another. 1

11. A switch comprising a base, insulators mounted thereupon, a pair of stationary ter- 7 minals supported on the insulators, a movable insulator between said terminals, a switch contact provided with arcing horns connected to one terminal, a movable arm comprising a second arcing horn connected to the other terminal and cooperable with the first arcing horn, a second switch contact carried by said movable insulator and electrically connected to said other terminal, and a lost motion couplingbetween the movable insu-' lator and said arm, for causing the arm to close the arcing horns before the switch contacts are closed and open them after the switch contacts have opened. a

12. A switch comprising a base, insulators mounted thereupon, a pair of stationary terminals supported on the insulators, a mov-.

able insulator between said terminals, a

switch contact provided with arcing horns connected to one terminal, a movable arm comprising a second arcing horn connected to the other terminal and cooperable with the first arcing horn, a second switch contactcarried by said movable insulator and electrically connected to said other terminal, a lost motion coupling between the. movable insulator i and said arm for causing the arm to close the arcing horns before the switch contacts are closed and open them after the switch contacts have opened, and a sleet hoodoperated by the coupling for covering. and uncovering one of said switch contacts.

13. A disconnect switch including a main contact having an arcing contact-associated therewith, a cooperating contact making member having an arcing member associated therewith, stationary and movable insulators supporting the two last mentioned members, means including the movable insulator for moving the maincontact making member out of its circuit closing position, and a lost motion connection for thereafter iniating the movement of the associated arcing member, said lost motion connection comprising a pair of linkspivotally connected together and having at one end a pivotal i mentioned pivot.

15. A switch comprising a stationary insulator, a rocking insulator movable towards and away from the stationary insulator, a

7 contact making member carried by the rocking insulator, an arcing contact pivotally mounted on the stationary insulator, and a pair of pivotally connected links having a pivotal connection at one end to the arcing contact and at the other end to the rocking insulator. V

' 16. A switch comprising a stationary insulator, a rocking insulator movable towards and away from the stationary insulator, a

contact making member carried by the rock-' ing insulator, an arcing horn pivotally mounted on the stationary insulator, a pair of pivotally connected links having a pivotal connection at one end to the arcing horn and at the other end to the rocking insulator,

18. A switch comprising a stationary insulator, a rocking insulator movable towards and away from the stationary insulator, a link pivoted on the stationary insulator, a link pivoted on the rocking insulator, a connection between the two pivoted links, and an arcing horn carried by said first mentioned link.

19. A switch comprising astationary insulator, a rocking'insulator movable towards and away from the stationary insulator, a link pivoted on the stationary insulator, a

link pivoted on the rocking insulator and a lost motion connection between the two links.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this eleventh day of August, 1927.

' JOHN SCHNEIDER.

and a sleet shield at one end of said links 7 and movable thereby into and out of a position covering said main contact.

17 ,A switch comprising a stationary insulator, a rocking insulator movable towards and away from the stationary insulator, a link pivoted on the stationary insulator, a link pivoted on the rockinginsulator, a third link pivoted to each of said links and maintaining a pivotal connection between them,

. and means independent of the two last mentioned links for maintaining the first men tioned link in its switch closed position 

